Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Don Beyer, D-Va., reintroduced a bill that would remove the possibility of a president using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act to impose quotas or tariffs. Most lawyers think Trump would use IEEPA for a global tariff. The statute is currently used to impose sanctions on parties in Iran, Belarus, Burma, Ethiopia and dozens of other countries.
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, introduced a bill to prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF, from blocking the import of guns and ammunition.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that senators are starting to have conversations about what incoming President Donald Trump might do on tariffs, and said, "We'll work through that."
Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., and Neal Dunn, R-Fla., introduced a bill to change the scope of packages eligible for de minimis. No bill text was available Jan. 10 from Suozzi's office, but former Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said before he retired that Suozzi would be taking over his push to curtail de minimis.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who represents Laredo, Texas, said that if Donald Trump, once he becomes president, were to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico, it would be very disruptive to business in his district. Trump re-upped the threat of those tariffs in a press conference earlier this week (see 2501070027). He had said he would hike tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian goods if Mexico and Canada don't crack down to his satisfaction on migration and drug trafficking into the U.S.
Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., who joined the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee in 2021, is the new ranking member, following Rep. Earl Blumenauer's retirement.
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., introduced House Resolution 2 this week, to create a Joint Ad Hoc Committee to design a plan where the functions and responsibilities of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative would be moved to the legislative branch, since the Constitution gives the power to regulate trade to Congress.
A bill that would move CBP headquarters from Washington to Texas was introduced by Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, who was one of the initial hold-outs on choosing House Speaker Mike Johnson last week.
The House voted Jan. 3 to renew the House Select Committee on China as part of an adoption of rules for the new 119th Congress.
The Senate Finance Committee will add Sens. Bernie Sanders, Tina Smith of Minnesota, Ben Luján of New Mexico and Peter Welch of Vermont as Democratic seats in the next Congress. (Sanders is an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats). The only new Republican on the committee is Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas.